Improvement in bellows



j. BOWDENI 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. l

Bellows. No. 56,335V Patented July 10, 1866.

N. PETER PhnlogLimegmphnr. washingwn. D. C.

TUNITED STATES- PATENT Ormea.

JOHN BOWDEN, OF MITCHAM, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN BELLOWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.56,335, dated July 10, 1866.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN BowDnN, of Mitcham, in the county of Surrey, England, machinist, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Bellows and I, the said JOHN BOWDEN, do. hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed-to be particularly described and ascertained in and by thefollo wing statement thereofth at is to say:

The objects of this invention are to gain a considerably saving of leather, amounting in some cases to one-half, and to enable double or single action bellows to be applied more conveniently thanheretoforetoportable forges, and also to obviate the objection of raising the leather edgewise, as in the old bellows.

It consists of a box or case divided, as hereinafter described, and shown in the drawings annexed, horizontallyT into chambers or compartments, in the lower one of which is fitted a piston or movable table or diaphragm, to which is nailed or otherwise fastened one or more strips of leather, the outer end or ends of which is or are fastened to the sides of the box or case, a sufficient allowance being made for the rise and fall of the piston or movable table or diaphragm. Motion is given to the piston or movable table or diaphragm by a horizontal shaft or bar of iron having one or more cranks passing lengthwise in suitable bearings through the box. Levers or rockstaffs can be placed at each end of this shaft. Two, four, or any number of valves are fitted in the lower chamber for the ingress of air, which, when the bellows are in operation, passes through other valves fitted, as hereinafter described, and shown in the drawings, in the partition into the upper chamber, which, as far as the leather is concerned, is of similar construction to the lower one, but, instead of being worked by a piston, is made to collapse by a heavy weight placed on the top or otherwlse.

These bellows can be made single or double actioned, and may be constructed of wood or iron or other suitable material.

In order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.

In the drawings, Figure l shows a plan,

Fig. 2 a front elevation, Fig. 3 a longitudinal section, Fig. 4L an end view, Fig. 5 a transverse section, Fig. 5* a horizontal section, and Figs. 6, 7, and 8 detail views, of a blacksmiths portable forge having bellows applied thereto, constructedwith a case and movable diaphragms attachedinternally, as hereinafter described, in accordance with my improvements.

a a is a box or case, by preference made of wood, although I do not confine myself thereto, as it may be made of iron or other suitable metal or material, if desired. The box or case t a is divided horizontally into two chambers or compartments, b b and c c, by the plate or partition a', the lower compartment, b, being fitted or furnished with a piston or movable table, hereinafter called a diaphragm, b, which is, by preference, formed by connecting the central board or plate, b", by means of leather or other flexible material, to the inner sides of the chamber b, the leather or other flexible material being nailed or otherwise attached to the edges of the board or plate b", and also to the inner sides of the chamber b b, as shown. In the upper chamber, c, is formed in like manner the diaphragm b by connecting the central board or plate, cx, by means of leather or other iiexible material, with the sides of the chamber c, the leather or iiexible material being fastened by nails or otherwise.

When the parts are at rest, as shown in the drawings, the diaphragms b c' sink by their own gravity nearly to the bottom of the chambers b c, the diaphragm c being weighted in order to cause it to descend, and thus expel the air with sucient force from the upper chamber, c, through the blow-pipe d and nozzle d', which directs it onto the hearth of the forge.

c is a rocking shaft or axis moving in suitable bearings at each end of the box ct a, the shaft c being connected to the diaphragm-b by the cranked lever-arms e' e', as shown.

When motion is communicated to the shaft or axis e by means of the levers or lrock-staffs e2 e2, fixed on or connected with its outer ends, the diaphragm b' will be caused to move up and down within the chamber b. The rising or upward movement of the piston or vdiaphragm b' causes airto be drawn into the lower chamber, b, through the valves b2 b2, which close when the piston descends. As the diaphragm b' rises it `,forces the air above it through the valvular opening a2 in the plate or partition a into the upper chamber, c, thus causing the diaphragm c to rise also. The air contained in the lower chamber, b, is then forced, by the downward movement of the diaphragm b', up the passage b3, (formed on the side of the box, as shown by Figs. 6 and 7,) and through the valve b4 into the upper chamber, air being admitted to the upper side of the diaphragm ZJ through the valves b5 b5, Which close when the diaphragm b again begins to rise. By this means the upper chamber, e, is rapidly charged with air, which is discharged therefrom through the blow-pipe d and nozzle d onto the hearth of the forge, the board or plate c* o1" the diaphragm c being Weighted to assist in discharging the air from the chamber c.

The bellows, arranged to act as previously described, are what I terni doubleactingg but they may be readily converted into singleaction bellows by keeping the valves b2 Z12constantlyopen,whichmaybereadilyaccomplished by movin g the b in ged arms a X inward, as shown at Fig. S, so as to prevent the valves D252 from closing, by which means the air vwill only be forced from the upper side of the piston or diaphragm b into the upper chamber, c, in place of from both sides alternately when in double-action, as iirst herein described; or, instead of converting the double-action bellows into single-action bellows, the apparatus may be readily constructed upon the saine principle, so as to act as single-action bellows.

The passage b3, to conduct the air from the lower to the upper chamber, may, for convenience, be formed by means of an external pipe or passage connecting the two chambers b o together, and the capacity of the upper chamber, c, may, if desired, be greater than that of the lower chamber, b.

The space between the upper edge of the box a and the under side of the hearth of the forge I prefer to close in, as shown, with the exception of a narrow space below the hearth plate for the escape of the current of air caused by the rising of the cover or diaphragm c. By thus closing in the space below the hearth vthe leather of the upper diaphragm is protected from being burned or injured by sparks from the forge or other damage.

A hinged cover may be placed. over the openings to the valves, made of peribrated zinc., wire-gauze, or other perforated material, to prevent rats, mice, or other vermin from en tering' the interior of the bellows.

Bellows constructed as above described are applicable to organs and other purposes for forcing air.

Having claim- The combination and arrangement oi the chambers, diaphragme, valves, rock-shaft, and connections, substantially as herein described, and shown in the drawings annexed.

JOHN BOWDEN.

now described my invention7 I Witnesses:

J'. G. ToNGUE, 34 Soatianqitoa Buildings, London. G. F. WARREN,

No. 17 Gmceohwch Street, London, E. O. 

